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Hope in the Dark

Author Rebecca Solnit starts Hope in the Dark: Untold Stories, Wild Possibilities off by discussing artist Mark Lombardi. Lombardi was half journalist, half artist. Through intense research he was able to visually chart out the networks that link centers of power together in large scale drawings. He did it so well, the FBI actually came to the Whitney Museum in 2001, viewing his work to aid their investigation of Osama Bin Laden. Lombardi was able to research and synthesize an incredible amount of information in is work, and for complex reasons, he committed suicide in 2000. However, living with the information and detailed understanding of the world he had in his head it's easy to see how depression overcame him.

If you're reading this, you can probably relate to some degree. (Quick, how many embittered old activists or ex-activists do you know?) Solnit's book provides some much needed, healthy perspective for those of us who would like to see some positive change in the world, but are maybe feeling a little frustrated after the last election.

She makes the case for a hope that is grounded in reality, that acknowledges the challenges and the victories of working for change, and posits new ideas on how change really comes about. It's elequently written, reads fairly quickly, and motivates that activist spirit without being unrealistic or sappy. I just finished it earlier this year and highly reccommend it. If you want a preview, there's some articles around that relate to the book, like this one and this one from Common Dreams.